What An X-23 Movie Should Be About, According To James Mangold

Although it was released months ago, fans of the X-Men franchise still aren't quite over James Mangold's Logan. Hugh Jackman's final run as Wolverine was a capsulated and intimate story about the generations, and introduced Dafne Keen's X-23 into the franchise. The young actress' performance has been universally acclaimed, with the fandom eager to see Laura return to the silver screen ASAP. Rumors immediately began swirling about a possible X-23 spinoff, with various members of the team eager to explore the possibility. And now Mangold himself has weighed in on what the film could be about.

At the premiere of Logan's black and white version, Logan Noire, James Mangold spoke about where a possible X-23 film would go. He said it would be:

A very honest film about young people, is what I'd say -- a very honest film about young people growing up.

I don't know about you, James Mangold's comment to Screen Rant seem like a great jumping off point for a possible X-23 spinoff. Keeping the story focused on a very human issue at its core will result in a more grounded superhero journey; exactly what Mangold managed to accomplish with Logan.

Because while Logan was a superhero movie involving two of the X-Men franchise's biggest characters, the film was much more emotionally exposed than anything the franchise had previously released. Rather than an ensemble project, we saw an intimate story about a crumbling makeshift family just trying to do their best. Logan and Laura's relationship quickly became that of a father and son, giving the story an emotional weight that could be easily missing in an epic battle against an army of Brotherhood foes.

So while Laura's journey will no doubt contain a fair amount of fantastic violence and her trademark ferocity, it'll also be grounded in the experience of growing up. Much like Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a possible spinoff could see X-23 slashing at her enemies both internally and literally. And we all know how bad her temper can be.

After hearing James Mangold's idea for an X-23 movie, I'm really hoping Fox starts diving into development. Dafne Keen will age like any normal person will, so they should try and get any spinoffs in the can before she transforms into a more mature young actress. And since Logan was set in an alternate future, Mangold and company will be able to take any creative liberties they want, without worrying about affecting the greater X-Men cannon. Although with a variety of timelines already in play, that might not be as important as in the MCU or DCEU.

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